In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 38

The carriage had already passed beyond the empire’s borders, moving at full speed.

Bellona, for the first time in a while, laughed brightly as she chatted away. Eshil, who had never seen her laugh so openly, glanced at her in astonishment. The sight of her crying had been surprising enough, but there was something about her laughing that made it impossible to look away.

Her face, usually dull and expressionless, now seemed to come to life, like colorful flowers blooming over dry, barren grass.

“Eshil, what’s wrong?” Bellona asked with a smile, noticing Eshil’s staring.

Eshil, as if in a trance, muttered, “Why are you so beautiful today, Sir Bellona?”

“What?”

“Our sister is the most beautiful woman in the empire. Eshil, didn’t you know?”

“Hey! I’m—”

Before Arina could finish, Marca hid behind Bellona, sticking out his tongue as if daring to continue. “Bellona’s much prettier than you, Arina!”

“You little! How ungrateful, after all I’ve done for you!”

Arina stood up abruptly, and Marca squirmed, trying to hide behind Bellona. The carriage swayed slightly from the commotion, but laughter quickly filled the space once more.

After traveling happily for some time, the carriage’s speed gradually slowed, and the sharp voice of one of the knights echoed through the air.

“Who are these people?!”

Bellona’s face immediately turned cold.

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Marca clung tightly to her, frightened.

The carriage stopped, and a voice came from outside. It was Net.

“Sir Bellona, there are suspicious men blocking the road ahead.”

“How many?”

“About ten.”

“What are they wearing?”

“They seem to be in disguise. All of them are masked.”

Could they be the bandits Caelus had warned about?

No, it didn’t seem like that.

They had only just left the empire, and no ordinary bandits would be bold enough to operate so close to imperial territory.

Which meant…

As Bellona fingered the hilt of the sword Caelus had given her, she issued her command, “Net, come inside and protect the children.”

“Yes.”

As Bellona stood up, Marca clutched at her clothing in desperation. “Sister…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”

Bellona hugged the tearful Marca tightly and gave a reassuring nod to Arina and Eshil before stepping out of the carriage.

With Net safely inside, she closed the door behind her and tied her wind-tossed hair into a tight knot. As she walked forward, the group of masked men drew their swords and assumed an offensive stance.

The knights hurriedly dismounted and moved to block her. “Sir Bellona, please go back inside. We’ll handle this.”

“With such a large difference in numbers, do you think you can handle it alone?”

One of the larger knights grinned, flashing his teeth as he spoke confidently, “Do we really need to match their numbers against these ragtag scoundrels?”

Ignoring the knight’s arrogance, Bellona’s sharp gaze remained fixed on the enemies before her. They all had the same stance, gripping their swords with both hands, wielding old longswords.

Just as I thought, they’re knights. Impes must have sent them.

Then, one of the masked men raised his voice. “We don’t intend to harm you. We only need to take the woman traveling with you.”

“What nonsense! Do you think we’ll hand over a helpless lady so easily? Come on, you crow-faced bastards! Attack us if you dare!”

The large knight who had spoken before turned to Bellona with an exaggerated smile, as if to say she needn’t worry.

“Sir Bellona, please return inside. We have everything under control. His Highness gave us strict orders.”

Bellona glanced briefly at the knight before calmly drawing her sword and asking an unexpected question, “What is your name?”

“Pardon?”

“We’ll be working together for a while, so I should at least know your name.”

“Ah, you can call me Rondo.”

“I hope your loyalty never wavers.”

Leaving those words behind, Bellona took a step forward.

“Sir Bellona!”

The Valensis knights moved closer, but Bellona turned to them with a firm command, “I’ll handle this. You focus on protecting my siblings. That’s an order from the Grand Duchess.”

The knights, wide-eyed and caught off guard by the sudden change in her tone, exchanged uncertain glances.

Without waiting for their response, Bellona continued forward, her expression blank as she addressed the masked men. “Who ordered you to take me?”

“Drop your sword.”

She turned her head in the direction of the voice, tilting her head slightly.

“Are you the leader?”

“I said drop your sword. We’ve been ordered to bring you back alive, but if you resist, you might die.”

“So, His Highness the Crown Prince ordered you to take me alive, did he?”

At the mention of the Crown Prince, the masked men visibly hesitated.

With a chilling gaze, Bellona extended her sword and gave them one last warning, “My sword shows no mercy. Even if you were my training partners just yesterday.”

“You’re just begging for death, aren’t you, you foolish woman? Kill her!”

It wasn’t the man who had been talking all along, but another one in the center who shouted the order and stepped back. At once, the masked men rushed toward her.

I knew you’d be hiding there.

A faint smirk tugged at her lips as Bellona leaped into the air. She moved like the wind, striking her enemies with ruthless precision.

With the strength that had crushed countless elite squads, she struck them down, and once they hit the ground, they couldn’t rise again easily.

Despite their efforts to stand and attack again, Bellona effortlessly knocked them down, closing the distance between herself and the man who had retreated.

Before long, the groans of the fallen filled the air. Yet, there was no sign of blood—Bellona had struck with the flat of her blade.

Now only one man remained, trembling as he swung his sword wildly, spitting curses. “You, you! Demon woman! Stay back!”

The battle had ended quicker than expected, and Bellona sighed, her brows furrowing in frustration as though she hadn’t even had a proper warm-up.

“Hah, at least you entertain me for a while.”

“I… I will kill you, Bellona. Mark my words!”

“Go ahead, Ether. Attack me.”

At the sound of her words, Ether’s hand froze.

Had he been found out?

Ether tore off his mask, baring his teeth. “You’re sharper than I thought.”

“How could I not recognize you? Do you know how long I’ve waited for this moment? I was worried you wouldn’t show up, Ether.”

“What?”

As if signaling that the games were over, Bellona’s emerald eyes darkened with intensity. She raised her sword, which she had been holding in reverse, now gripping it properly, her gaze filled with lethal intent as she stared at Ether.

“You must think very little of me, Bellona, just because you managed to win once while I let my guard down. Today, I’ll show you the true difference in our skills!”

Just like during the vice-commander’s trial, Ether launched the first attack. Bellona remained still as his blade came hurtling toward her. At the last moment, she twisted her body, dodging the strike, and then slammed the hilt of her sword into his abdomen.

With a scream, Ether’s large body was thrown backward.

Bellona approached him slowly, her steps deliberately heavy, as if she intended to crush him underfoot. Fear slowly crept into Ether’s eyes.

“Get up.”

“You crazy bit—ugh!”

Before he could finish his insult, Bellona stomped on his groin with full force.

Gasps of sympathy echoed from behind them.

Ether’s eyes bulged with red veins, and he rolled on the ground, clutching himself in agony. Unable to even scream from the sheer pain, he coughed and wheezed, drooling and sobbing uncontrollably.

Bellona didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry. She had stomped with all her might, fully intending to crush him. After all, what he was about to endure would be far worse than this.

Suddenly, Ether, in a crazed frenzy, grabbed his sword again, whipping his upper body around to strike. Bellona blocked his attack effortlessly. In the blink of an eye, her blade slashed down silently across his arm.

Shk!

“Ah… AAAAAAHHHHH!”

Ether’s severed arm tumbled to the ground, followed by his wretched screams.

She had cut off his dominant arm, and yet Bellona, her face emotionless, watched his suffering with detached interest, contemplating her next move.

Should I kill him?

No, killing him now would be too easy.

Because of you, my siblings died.

Ether’s body convulsed as he rolled on the ground before finally going limp. Bellona crouched beside him and whispered softly, “This arm is the price you pay for betraying me. Next time, I’ll take a leg for the life of His Highness the Prince. And after that, I’ll sever your remaining limbs as retribution for my siblings’ deaths. If you survive, that’s your fate. So pray to the gods—beg them to spare your pathetic life.”

As she stood up and turned away, she found the Imperial knights kneeling before her, their faces pale as ghosts.